The Guitarist Painting by Pablo Picasso

Times New Roman

12

1 page

Discussion

Introduction

The study of old art enables contemporary artists and art enthusiasts to know many details about ancient drawing and painting, as well as interpreting their meanings to understand the message that the artists intended to pass, for instance, about culture. It is also a way of appreciating the talents of people in the past, before technology revolutionized everything. This assignment will focus on a famous artist known as Pablo Picasso. Picasso made many paintings and drawings, all of which are fascinating and allow the people today to deeply reflect back on life in the past, as well as his personal experiences. However, the paper only describes one of his late paintings, called the Guitarist, a piece of art which he completed in 1965. The explanation of this art covers its visual description, biographical information, and contextual information.

Visual Description

The artwork depicts a man sitting on a chair with a guitar in his hands, which he appears to be playing. His hands are large and clumsy, and his body parts are also disjointed. The image faces directly at the viewer, with large piercing eyes. At the left bottom corner of the painting is a different image of a head, which is believed to be the artist’s self-portrait. According to the officials at the museum, the separate image on the lower corner of the painting is sort of a visual signature by Picasso. The painting’s surface has a rough texture, showing the shapes of the brush he used to paint.

Biographical Information

Painted in 1965, The Guitarist was among Picasso’s latest paintings, before he passed away in 1973. He was aging, being in his mid-80s, and that is one of the reasons why he included a visual signature, with which generations to come would remember him (The Art Institute of Chicago 9). Having painted an earlier version known as The Old Guitarist in 1903, this artwork had a connection with his past pieces about guitar (Defeyt 26). The painting is a cultural artifact of the Spanish community, which loved to play music using instruments such as the guitar.

Contextual Information

The art used simple techniques of oil on canvas, and a primeval style of painting. Such techniques were popular during the ancient classical, medieval, and renaissance periods, but not in the 20^th century (Clement 17). The Guitarist is categorized as a contemporary art, but its technique is old. Art in the 1965 era applied techniques such as classical realism, hyperrealism, figuration libre, ink painting and more, which Picasso did not use. By 1965, most artwork had moved away from the oil on canvas technique.

Conclusion

Pablo Picasso is one of the greatest contemporary painters because of his classical and unique artworks. He perfectly used art to describe his emotion, cultural background and many other events that occurred during his lifetime. While at the museum, I enjoyed most of his paintings, especially the Guitarist. It is simple, but is composed of many details that can lead the viewer to analyze and understand its context and the artist’s biographical information. The artist used an old technique to paint his artwork for a classical piece, although art during this time had moved from the use of oil on canvas.